Nordreich Liga Season XV
]] Nordreich Liga Season XV ran from July 31, 2013 to November 29, 2013 - the second-longest season to date. The league saw growth by two teams when FC Craiova Sud and Vinland Berserkers joined as expansion clubs while all 7 clubs from the previous season returned. With 9 teams onboard for the league's fifteenth campaign, the league was at its largest size since Season V. While the Berserkers were a completely new outfit, FC Craiova Sud was a re-birth under their former manager Ratonbox who managed the original club for three seasons between Season II and Season IV - winning the Nordreich Liga regular season championship in Season III. During the pre-season, there was uncertainty regarding the demise of the Grand Lodge League due to dwindling numbers and Commissioner Botha made an offer to take in those teams - however the Grand Lodge League ultimately decided to soldier on and continue with its 17th season of play. Ratonbox was sacked as manager of FC Craiova Sud on October 11, 2013. Due to the effects of the Disorder War raging across the globe, on November 11, 2013, the Transvaal Springboks agreed with a request from their allied comrades in the Northern Reich to open up Loftus Versfeld to groundsharing the two Dorpat teams for the duration of the conflict. Both Dynamo Dorpat of Liga Mundo and Dorpat Lions of the Nordreich Liga relocated to Pretoria until hostilities ended and it was feasible and safe to move the club back to their home grounds. Final Standings Regular Season Nordreich Liga 1 Statistics Leaders All-Star Team Team of the Month Award Retirements & Departures *'Ken Norman' (Dynamo Lions) - defender, aged 35. Ken Norman was one of the greatest fullbacks to ever grace the Nordreich Liga. Signed to the Dorpat Lions in Season III, he became an expert general of the defense in his own half of the field and also displayed an outstanding scoring knack for a fullback player in the offensive half. At the time of his retirement on November 29, 2013, Ken Norman was ranked 3rd in career matches played (234), most career goals (108), 6th in career assists (41), and 4th in career points (149) for the Dorpat Lions. He amassed a wealth of league merits during his 13 season career from Season III until Season XV: 1st in X11 selections (9) in Season VI, tied for 1st in X11 selections (7) in Season VII, 3rd in goals (8) in Season XIII, tied 3rd in X11 selections (7) in Season VIII, 4th in X11 selections (6) in Season IV, tied 5th in X11 selections (8) in Season IX, 4th in goals (13) in Season V, tied 5th in goals (7) in Season IX, Season X (6 goals), and in Season XII (8 goals), and 5th in points (7) in Season VI. He made the Nordreich Liga All-Star Team for an incredible, 10 consecutive seasons from Season IV through Season XIII. His strongest campaign was probably Season V were he scored 19 goals and 24 points during 29 regular season and cup matches. Ken Norman played in his 100th legendary match on September 21, 2011 during Season VIII; his 200th bicentennial match in the Nordreich Liga came during Season XIII on January 23, 2013. *'Tom Cowan' (Keville Athletic) - forward, aged 36. Cowan was an original member of Keville Athletic when the club joined the Nordreich Liga in Season IV. Cowan made an immediate impact in Liga 2 by capping off an MVP performance when he finished 2nd in goals (6), assists (4), and points (10) in the Liga 2 in Season IV. He led in X11 selections (10) and named to the Liga 2 All-Star team that season. His career mirroring the fortunes of Keville Athletic, Cowan's strongest seasons fell between Season IV and Season VIII. He finished 2nd in assists (6) and tied for 3rd in X11 selections (6) in Season VII, following up the next season by finishing 4th in goals (6) in Season VIII. Arguably the greatest player to wear the black, yellow, an green colours of Athletic and make an impact both in the Nordreich Liga and on his own team, Cowan retired at the conclusion of Season XV tied 3rd in career games played (187), led for career goals (60) and points (81), and tied for 6th in assists (21). Tom Cowan was inducted as honourary member of the Nordreich Liga Hall of Fame on June 15, 2012. He played in his 100th legendary match on June 27, 2012 during Season XI. Cowan retired on November 29, 2013 after 12 seasons with Keville Athletic. *'St Õmm' (Northern Reich / Dorpat Lions) midfielder, aged 32. He joined Northern Reich during Season I as a junior prospect. He was sold on October 6, 2013 during Season XV for $4,365,648. He played in 244 career matches, scoring 53 goals and 75 assists for 128 points. St Õmm finished tied 2nd in assists in Season II, 3rd in assists in Season VI, 5th for assists in Season VIII, and 5th in assists and X11 selections in Season IX. He led in X11 team selections in Season VIII with 10. He was named to the Liga all-star team in Season VIII and Season XIII. *'Pedro Ailton' (Nacional CF / Inverness Alba Rovers / Moenchengladbach / Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats - midfielder, aged 35. A fixture with the club since its debut as Nacional CF in Season III, Ailton's strong ability in the midfield managed to help him endure and weather through numerous management and franchise changes off the pitch. His career spanned 12 seasons and four club names as Nacional CF transferred to Inverness at the start of Season VII, then to Moenchengladbach in Season X, before ending up with Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats in Season XIV. He only played one season for the Ziggurats, as he announced his intention to retire at the conclusion of Season XIV. He was released by the club on July 20, 2013, prior to the start of Season XV. Pedro Ailton's finest campaign was Season XII when he bagged 9 goals in 13 matches that season. He retired with 167 games to his credit, as well as 30 goals and 56 points. Pedro Ailton played 100th legendary match in the Nordreich Liga, as a member of Inverness Alba Rovers, on December 24, 2011 during Season IX. *'Lluc Sueiro' (Langston F.C./Hells Cargo) - defender, aged 35. He signed with Langston F.C. at the start of Season IX when the club joined the Nordreich Liga as an expansion team and played in 95 games over the course of 6 seasons. He scored 2 goals and 5 points during his career and was the club's leader in games played, at the time of his departure, when he was released by Hells Cargo on September 11, 2013 after announcing his retirement after the conclusion of Season XV. *'Ignado Ferrero' (Langston F.C./Hells Cargo) - forward, aged 35. He signed with Langston F.C. at the start of Season IX when the club joined the Nordreich Liga as an expansion team and played in 93 games over the course of 6 seasons. Ferrero scored 18 goals and 22 points during his career and he led the club both in career goals and career points at the time of his departure on September 11, 2013, when he was released by Hells Cargo, along with team-mate Lluc Sueiro, after announcing their retirements after the conclusion of Season XV. *'Aniceto Santiso' (Langston F.C. / Hells Cargo) - midfielder, aged 35. Joining the Nordreich Liga in Season IX with the expansion team Langston F.C., at the time of his departure, he led all players in gamed played with 98 matches to his credit. He scored 7 goals and 6 assists during his 7 seasons spent toiling for Langston F.C. and later with Hells Cargo. Santiso was released November 30, 2013 prior to the start of Season XVI *'Florêncio Veloso' (Vinland Berserkers) - forward, aged 35. He played one season with the Berserkers, appearing in 16 games and scoring 4 goals and 6 points during Season XV. He was released on November 30, 2013 prior to Season XVI. League MVP Theodor Normstedt (Zemo City Avengers) repeated for the second season in a row as the winner of the Hillo Maalepp MVP Trophy, edging out fellow team-mate Lancelot Zemo in the selection process by Commissioner Botha. Career Milestones *'Tupac Shakur' (Dorpat Lions) played in his 200th career match on August 17, 2013 (as emergency goalkeeper) *'Benin Ndiako' (Kaapstad Hornets) played in his 200th career match on August 21, 2013 *'Ernest Ebede' (Kaapstad Hornets) played in his 200th career match on August 28, 2013 *'Pablo Vaz Leal' (Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats) played in his 200th career match on October 26, 2013 Manager of the Season In one of the closest seasons seen, managers BaronZemo (Zemo City Avengers) and Botha (Kaapstad Hornets) finished tied for X11 Manager of the Week selection with 4 apiece. Close behind were the managers for Golden Valley FC and Hells Cargo, each with 3 weekly selections, followed by Vinland Berserkers with 2 selections and Dorpat Lions and Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats rounding out the group with 1 each. This marks the tenth Manager award for BaronZemo, having won it outright in six seasons and sharing it in three other seasons. Nordreich Cup First Round Matches played August 3 and August 10, 2013 *Vinland Berserkers defeated FC Craiova Sud (3-0; 4-0) Quarter-Finals Matches played August 17 and August 24, 2013 *Kaapstad Hornets defeated Vinland Berserkers (4-1; 5-0) *Dorpat Lions defeated Zemo City Avengers (0-5; 6-0) *Golden Valley FC defeated Hells Cargo (3-1; 4-1) *Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats defeated Keville Athletic (2-0; 2-0) Semi-Finals Matches played on August 31 and September 7, 2013 *Kaapstad Hornets defeated Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats (1-0; 5-1) *Dorpat Lions defeated Zemo City Avengers (3-3; 5-0) Nordreich Cup Finals Matches played on September 14 and September 21, 2013 *Kaapstad Hornets defeated Dorpat Lions (3-2; 3-3) Hell’s Cargo Cup This season’s open tournament cup is played in honour of the Hell’s Cargo club. All rounds are random-seeded, two-game series. The first round kicks off on October 5 between Hell’s Cargo and Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats. All other teams have byes into the next round. First Round Matches played on October 5 and October 19, 2013 *Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats defeated Hells Cargo (5-0; 3-1) Quarter-Finals Matches played on October 19 and October 26, 2013 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Keville Athletic (4-0; 5-0) *Dorpat Lions defeated Kaapstad Hornets (3-2; 0-0) *Golden Valley FC defeated FC Craiova Sud (2-1; 6-0) *Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats defeated Vinland Berserkers (3-0; 5-0) Semi-Finals Matches played November 2 and November 9, 2013 *Golden Valley FC defeated Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats (3-0; 4-1) *Zemo City Avengers defeated Dorpat Lions (4-1; 5-1) Hell’s Cargo Cup Finals Matches played November 16 and November 23, 2013 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Golden Valley FC (2-1; 1-1) Team Pages *Kaapstad Hornets Category:Sports Category:Soccer Category:Nordreich Liga Category:Nordreich